Thank you to everyone that attended the State Convention in Owego on June 24th through the 26th and placing your trust in me as your State Commander.  We had a good showing of posts and I hope to see more at the SEC in October that will be held at the Turf Inn in Albany.  A little change in venue may help more members and posts attend our meetings. As you may already know our June 2011 Convention will also be held at the Turf Inn in Albany.

We have around 80 posts and 8000 members in the Department of New York. We will be adding another Post in Mexico, New York in the upcoming weeks and we have had a request from the Lake George region for a starter kit. That's not a bad start, but we need to add a lot more to compete with the VFW and American Legion. We have only one requirement other than serving since World War II and that is a discharge under honorable conditions. We have many veterans out there that are just waiting for someone to ask them to join. I'm not asking anyone to be a traveling saleman, just mention the AMVETS in conversation with friends and companions. Hold a recruitment day at your Post on a holiday such as Veterans' Day and you will be surprized on how many veterans you will get. We have the greatest organization and the greatest Department, all we need is the numbers to prove it. I look forward to delivering new charters and hearing about our increased membership at our next SEC meeting.

Mark S. Phillips

Department Commander